“C” likes it (especially in the playoffs)

The third category has expressed its final verdict. Binda, from the Gazzetta dello Sport, takes stock of the present and future

With the promotion of Carraresethe Serie C has given the final verdict. The Tuscans, thanks to the narrow victory at home, in the double play-off final against the Vicenzareach in B The MantuaThe Cesena and the Juventus Stabia. According to the data communicated by the Pro Leaguethe championship which began at the end of August and concluded on Sunday 9th, recorded an increase of 700 thousand spectators inside the stadiums compared to last season (+32.25%), going from 2,185,121 to 2,833,560 paying spectators.

Nick Bindahistorical head of service of the Gazzetta dello Sport for the B series and the Serie Chelps us take stock of the last championship, starting from the final, but above all of the category.

«In the two games the Carrarese he deserved promotion, even if only one goal made the difference. The Tuscans, however, were better and created more opportunities, compared to a Vicenza team whose regret is not having presented themselves to the best of their ability, with crucial absences. The tiredness was the same for both, but the yellow-blues certainly had a richer squad with many alternatives, something that the Venetians didn’t have. The difference was all here and therefore, in the end, there Carrarese he deserved it. For what concern Vicenzain recent years we perceived a relationship between the owners and the fans that was not too idyllic, but on Sunday we saw something different: the president Stefano Rossothe mister Stephen Old and the team, after the defeat, went to the sector reserved for the red and whites to applaud the fans and receive their affection».

There were also encouraging words from owner Renzo Rosso.

«Exactly. The fans have recognized the efforts of the team and the club. At the same time, an ownership that comes out defeated but not demoralized, is a good sign for the future, because Red he seemed determined to try again. And I think this is fundamental: it wasn’t the classic defeat with breakup, controversy, threats of abandonment. I believe it was a constructive defeat and that there is a good atmosphere».

Once this championship is over, what do you think of the composition of the category, so varied, ranging from teams with great tradition to others representing squares of a few thousand people, with stadiums at the limit of usability. And, for about 8 years, there have also been the Under 23s of the Serie A clubs.

«This is called “sport”. Sport is a subject that rewards those who score a goal more than others, or a point more than others, or those who run faster. Since it is a “sport”, we cannot favor those with other values, because the sporting aspect would be lost. If, however, we want football, all football, to transform into Super alloyor in theNBA – championships that you enter only because of the name you have and the place you represent (and the budget you have, ed.) – then it is no longer sport, but it is business. When sport turns into that, we will approach it differently. As long as sport remains that thing in which whoever overcomes the opponent wins the match, then it is right that whoever succeeds should move forward. Then, of course, you have to have a whole series of requirements, the stadium, the economic strength, etc., to face what awaits you, however, the sporting aspect, the emotional aspect for the fans, the dream that you live… these they are the things that have priority. It’s not that the others don’t matter, but they are secondary to the sporting aspect».

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We always talk about Serie C as a training ground for young talents. It’s really like this?

«Yes. The Pro League distributes its resources to those who encourage young people to play and to those who propose them. Then, there are those who are capable and propose them well and enhance them and those who just make them play, just to get the money. There B series he recognizes this function because he draws abundantly from the lower league. What then, instead, the A league do it less, it’s a problem of the top flight, which follows other logic, not caring about the Italian product and going around the world to find players. I find it unacceptable because at a youth level we continue to demonstrate to the whole world that we have the best school there is: let’s only think aboutUnder 17 who just won theEuropean. We continue to produce young people of great value who then in A league they can’t find the right space. There Serie C does its duty in the gym, with players who grew up in their youth teams or found in other teams, to rough them up and prepare them for the next step».

So where is the problem?

«The problem is that you come up against rules, both sports and non-sports, such as those on sports constraints, which hinder the work of clubs: after having worked, and therefore invested, on a player, you risk seeing him taken away without any “economic compensation”, therefore a wasted job. But this is a general problem of Italian football».

But, in your opinion, is this heterogeneity of the third category functional? And what is the role of the second teams?

«In reality it is there in all categories: in A league I’m there Juventus and theEmpoliin B series there are the Palermo and the Barias the Citadel and the South Tyrol. Each championship has a different nature, in Serie C it is amplified because there are not 20 teams, but 60, so it is easier to find the small village with three thousand inhabitants as the metropolis. And it hits harder. In this general variety, here are the second teams, which are a novelty desired by the Football Federationwhen Italy, for the first time, failed to qualify for the World Cup. He took measures to revive the fortunes of national football and among these, in fact, he thought that with the second teams more Italian players would be valorised for the national teams. In reality, it is a novelty that is more convenient for individual Italian teams, because they help their players mature better, but they are not always Italian, on the contrary. In the Juventus Next Gen they are very few, inAtalanta U23 there’s a few more. Of course it is a “service” that is paid for, and handsomely, but evidently it works for the companies, given that the Milan. It works less for the national team, given that in 8 years only one player, Nicolò Fagioli from the Juventus NGlanded in blue».

Why don’t you read 50 Shades of Blue?

Did you like this last championship?

«It went a bit in the wake of the latest ones, the real surprise was the Mantuawhich dominated the Group A, after a failed season and a readmission. I was pleased because evidently in Italy there are still those who know how to play football and know how to make winning projects. The favorites were others, like the Triestina, for example, which instead failed miserably. In the other two groups, the Cesena he respected the prediction, valorising the players of his youth sector, who made up a third of the starting team, in addition to those on the bench. There Juventus Stabia it was another surprise, in a group in which there were giants, like the Catania and the Crotone: the Campania team won thanks to a very thoughtful and reasonable project and constant performance. In general, it was a fun championship, especially thanks to the final playoff formula which I really like, even if I realize that playing them is exhausting. I’m for “the more games the better” and seeing play-offs like this is always fun. I would like fewer championship games and more playoffs. Because the matches in which something is up for grabs are the most exciting and attract the most spectators».

You mentioned Fagioli, a prediction for the European Championships…

«Italy has shown over the years that it is capable of anything, of surprising as well as disappointing. If a spark strikes in that locker room, as it did in England in 2021 – perhaps along the way, perhaps after the first victory – a conviction, a determination, a positivity is born, which could also lead us to win. If it doesn’t happen, we’re not going anywhere. We can beat anyone if, in addition to technical issues, we can also be superior on a tactical and motivational level. There are three non-random and decisive components. If we can put them all together we can do it. Anything can happen».

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(photo Lega Pro press office)